Established Libraries as a Destination for Newly Published Works in a Manuscript Culture. Medieval Authors’ Perspectives

Abstract

The chapter argues that established book repositories were part of medieval authors’ intentions and practices when aiming for a home for a newly composed work. The main concern of authors publishing in manuscript may have been for simple preservation of their writings. Institutional repositories must have appeared a safer bet than many private book collections. They were also seen as conveyers of authority and prestige, as suggested by statements made by John of Capua or Arnau de Vilanova. Finally, the words of Gregory the Great, Arnau de Vilanova, Jacopo Stefaneschi, Giovanni Boccaccio, Jean Gerson, or Thomas Gascoigne show that libraries were further assigned the role of distributor, if not publisher. A good number of works that were deposited with corporate bodies that were neither the commissioners nor dedicatees of that work invites to acknowledge the role of external institutions and their libraries, which were equally expected and able to support medieval authors in their endeavours.